A parchment describing the death of a young Teesside soldier in the First World War is now hanging in Middlesbrough Town Hall.

The 90-year-old document refers to James McPartland, a South Bank man killed during the 3rd Battle of Ypres in 1917.

He was the uncle of Middlesbrough councillor John McPartland, who has donated the parchment. Cllr McPartland said the scroll was sent to the family soon after his Uncle James' death in Belgium at the battle of Passchendaele.

"He was my dad's eldest brother and was only 20 years old.

"He was a soldier in the Yorkshire Regiment and the scroll bears the name of King George V. He was one of 11 brothers and sisters and my family have told me he was a very gentle type of character," said Cllr McPartland. "I remember my Aunty Nellie, who only recently died at the age of 103, talking about how upset the family were when they received the letter." The parchment, displayed on family walls for the last 90 years, reads:

"He whom this scroll commemorates was numbered among those who, at the call of king and country, left all that was dear to them, endured hardness, faced danger, and finally passed out of the sight of men by the path of duty and self-sacrifice, giving up their own lives that others might live in freedom. Let those who come after see to it that his name be not forgotten."

The Battle of Passchendaele was won by the Allies but they suffered almost 500,000 casualties. Cllr McPartland added: "There were so many thousands of young men who were killed and it was such a waste. I think the scroll helps ensure that their memories are not lost."